Automatic clothes dryer



y 1967 J. c. WORST AUTOMATIC CLOTHES DRYER Filed Aug. 9, 1965 INVENTOR. JOSEPH C. WORST BY fWd1 ms ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,320,683 AUTOMATIC CLOTHES DRYER Joseph C. Worst, Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 9, 1965, Set. No. 473,221 4 Claims. (Cl. 34139) This invention relates to automatic clothes dryers, and more particularly, to an improved access door mechanism for use in such dryers incorporating clothes receiving containers rotatable about a generally horizontal axis.

There are available at the present time a large number of domestic clothes dryers which include a clothes receiving container rotatable about a generally horizontal axis and having a number of ribs. The ribs lift clothes in the container as the container rotates and then the clothes fall back to the bottom of the contanier. Then as the container rotates a stream of heated air is passed through the clothes to dry them. One end of the container is formed with an access opening for loading and unloading clothes and a door mechanism is provided for closing this opening during dryer rotation. This door mechanism creates a problem which has become more ac centuated in recent years by the advent of larger capacity dryers. As the clothes tumble or fall from the upper portion of the dryer to the bottom, some of them impinge upon the inner surface of the door mechanism. This contact retards these items and tends to cause the clothes within the drum to become tangled and bailed. Recent trends have been to provide larger and larger capacity in clothes dryers while, at the same time, retaining essentially the same dryer size. Thus, the clothes being dried occupy an increasing percentage of the available space within the clothes container and more clothes tend to impinge upon the inner surface of the door.

A number of approaches have been taken in an attempt to overcome the tangling problem; however, none of them have been completely successful. One approach has been to dish or recess the inner surface of the door mechanism. In theory, if the door could be recessed a suflicient amount the tangling problem would be solved because the clothes would not impinge upon the door. In practice this is not possible because too great a dishing effect will provide the door with a ledge on which clothes will come to rest and a mass of clothes will build up on the inner surface of the door and greatly increase rather than decrease the problem. A shallow dish or recess on the other hand, although reducing the problem, is not completely satisfactory because the clothes still impinge upon the door.

Some prior art clothes dryers include door mechanisms wherein the inner surface of the door engages the dryer drum around the access opening so that the inner surface of the door rotates with the drum. Such a construction also reduces the tangling problem but is not completely satisfactory. For a dryer to effectively tumble the clothes the clothes receiving container must rotate at such a speed that the clothes will be lifted up by the batfie and will fall freely back to the bottom. Where the door rotates with the drum the door will have a vertical velocity over most of its surface which is different than that of the falling clothes. Thus, such a door causes substantial tangling of the articles in the dryer.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved clothes drying machine wherein the access door offers minimum resistance to tumbling clothes.

More specifically, it is an object of my invention to achieve such a goal by providing an access door mechanism in which the inner surface is freely rotatable in response to contact by tumbling clothes.

In carrying out my invention in one form thereof, I provide a clothes or fabric drying machine having a 3,329,683 Patented May 23, 1967 clothes receiving container which is rotatable about a generally horizontal axis and includes clothes lifting baffles so that fabrics placed within the container are lifted up as the container rotates and then fall freely to the lower portion of the container. One end wall of the container is formed with an access opening for loading and unloading fabrics, and a door mechanism is provided for closing the access opening during dryer operation. The door mechanism includes an outer portion which is piovtally mounted for movement between open and closed positions and an inner portion which is mounted on the outer portion so as to be freely rotatable. When the outer portion is in a closed position the inner portion is slightly spaced from the edge of the access opening so as to effectively close the opening and at the same time provide an inner surface which is freely rotatable in response to contact by the tumbling clothes.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. My invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing. The single figure of the drawing is a side elevational view of a clothes dryer incorporating my improved door mechanism, the view being partly broken away and partly sectionalized to illustrate details.

Referring now to the drawing, the machine illustrated is a domestic clothes dryer generally indicated by the numeral 1. Dryer 1 is provided in the usual way with an appearance cabinet 2 which encloses the various operational elements of the dryer. In the usual way cabinet 2 is provided with a vertically disposed front opening 3 to provide access to the interior of the cabinet for loading and unloading clothes. Provided on the top wall 5 of cabinet 2 is a control panel 6 which may, in the conventional way, include a suitable pushbutton control 7 mounted in panel 6. By manual depression of button 7 the machine may be caused to start, and automatically proceed through a cycle of operation.

Within cabinet 2 there is provided a clothes tumbling container or drum 8, mounted for rotation on a generally horizontal axis. Drum 8 is substantially cylindrical in shape, having a first cylindrical wall portion 9, second and third outer cylindrical wall portions 10 and 11 located respectively adjacent the front and back of the drum, 2. front wall 12, and a back wall 13. Outer wall portions 9, 10 and 11 are imperforate over their entire length so that the outer shell of the basket is imperforate. On the interior surface of central portion 9 there may be provided a plurality of clothes tumbling ribs 14 so that clothes are lifted up when the drum rotates, and then tumble or fall back to the bottom of the drum. The front of drum 8 may be rotatably supported within outer casing by suitable idler wheels, one of which is shown by the numeral 15. These wheels are rotatably secured to the top of a member 16 which extends up from base 17 of the machine. The wheels 15 are disposed beneath the drum in contact with portion 10 thereof so as to contact portion 10 on each side to provide a stable support. The rear end of drum 8 receives its support by means of a stub shaft 18 extending from the center of wall 13-. Shaft 18 is secured within a bearing 19 formed in a baflie 20 which in turn is rigidly secured to the back wall 21 of cabinet 2 by any suitable means such as, for instance, welding at a number of points 22. With the arrangement shown, the basket may rotate on a generally horizontal axis, with rollers 15 providing the front support and stub shaft 18 within bearing 19 providing the rear support.

In order to provide for the flow of a stream of drying air through the clothes drum, the drum is provided with a central aperture or opening 23 in its front wall 12 and with an opening in the form of a plurality of perforations 24 in its rear wall 13, the perforations in the present case being formed to extend aroundthe rear wall in an an nulus. The opening 23 is in alignment withopening 3 in front wall 4 and thus serves a dual purpose in that it also provides access to drum 8 for loading and unloading fabrics.

As has been stated, baffle member is rigidly secured to rear wall 21 of cabinet 2. 'Baflie member 20 also serves to support heating means 25 which includes two resistance type electrical heating elements 26 and 27, appropriately insulated from the bafiie member. Elements 26 and 27 may be annular in shape so as to be generally co-exten-sivevwith perforations 24 in drum 8. A baffle member 28 is .rigidly secured to the back wall 13- of the drum outside the ring of perforations 24 and within the stationarybaffie 20, so that an annular air inlet 29 is formed by baffles 20 and 28. In this manner a passage is formed for air to enter annular air inlet 29 between the baffles, pass over the heating means 25, and then pass through openings 30 formed in bafiie 28 and perforations 24 in back wall 13 into the interior of drum 8.

The front opening 23- of drum 8 and the front opening 3 of cabinet 2 are closed by means of new and improved door mechanism generally indicated by the numeral 31. Door mechanism 31 includes an outer member or door 32 hingedly mounted on cabinet 2 by any suitable conventional means such as upper and lower pivot pins ,33 and 34 so that outer door 32 may be pivoted into and out of register with cabinet opening 3. Door mechanism 31 also includes an inner member or door 35 which is generally circular in shape and may, in addition, be dish-shaped so as to be recessed away from drum 8 when the door mechanism is in its closed position. A stub shaft or mounting pin 36 is provided at the center of inner door 5 and is received in a bearing 37 formed at the center of an inner wall 38 of outer door 32, stub shaft 36 being held in bearing 37 by means of a C clip 39 which is mounted around the end of the shaft. Inner door 35 is constructed with a slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of drum opening 23- so that the outer edge of door 35 will clear the inner edge of drum wall 12 and door 35 will be free-wheeling. With this con struction then, when tumbling clothes impinge upon inner door 35 the inner door will revolve freely and independently of the drum. Door mechanism 31 provides the means whereby clothes may be loaded and unloaded from the drum, the openings 23 and 3 being exposed when the door mechanism is pivoted to its open position about pins 33 and 34 and the openings 23 and 3 being blocked when the door mechanism is pivoted to its closed position.

An air outlet from the drum is provided by a number of perforation 40-formed in inner door 35 in alignment with openings 41 formed in the inner wall 38 of outer door 32. The bottom wall section of outer door 32 is provided with an opening 42. A door frame is formed by a flange of front wall 4 of the cabinet and an inner surface member 43. Front wall 4 and inner surface member 43 also cooperate to form an exhaust duct 44. An opening 45 is formed at the upper end of duct 44 in alignment with opening 42 in the bottom wall portion of outer door 32 and a lint trap 46 is positioned in exhaust duct 44 at opening 45, the lint trap being supported by the edge of wall 4 and inner surface member 43.

Duct 44 leads downwardly to an opening 47 formed in member 16 which supports wheels 15. Opening 47 constitutes the inlet to a blower member 48 contained within a housing 49 and directly driven by an electric motor 50. The blower draws ambient air in over the heating means 25, then through the basket, then through the door mechanism 31 and the duct 44, and then into the blower. From the blower the air passes through any appropriate duct (not shown) out of cabinet 2 so as to be exhausted from the machine.

In addition to driving blower 48, motor 50 constitutes the means for effecting rotation of drum 8. In order to effect this, motor 50 is provided with a shaft 51 having a small pulley 52 formed at the end thereof. A belt 53 ex-- tends around pulley 52 and also entirely around cylindrical wall section 9 of drum 8. The relative circumferences of pulley 52 and wall section 9 cause the drum to be driven by the motor at a speed suitable to effect tumbling of the clothes therein. In order to effect proper tensioning of belt 53, there may be provided a suitable idler assembly 54 secured on the same support 55 which secures. one end of the motor. Thus, the air is pulled through the drum and, at the same time, the fabrics in the drum are tumbled. When the air is heated by heating elements 26 and 27, the heated air passing through the drum causes vaporization of the moisture from the clothes, the vapor being carried off with the air as it. passes out of the machine.

In order to provide for operation of motor 50 and heating means 25 they are adapted to be connected to a source of electrical energy (not shown) such as the usual household wiring system by a control mechanism including pushbutton 7 so that the machine may be caused to start and proceed through a predetermined cycle of drying operation. The particular control circuit forms no part of this invention and a number of such control circuits are available. Therefore the control circuit has been omitted for ease of understanding.

During operation of the dryer the ribs or vanes 14 lift the clothes upwardly within the drum 8 and they tumble back tothe bottom. As they tumble, some may strike the inner door 35; however, since the door 35 is freewheeling and freely revolves independently of the drum when impinged upon by the clothes, the door offers very little resistance to the clothes and tangling of the clothes is minimized.

It will be understood that while I have shown a clothes dryer including a door mechanism having an inner member or portion which substantially completely fills the drum opening that other specific constructions could be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For instance, the outer door member could extend into the drum opening and provide an annular stationary rim with the inner, rotatable door covering the remainder of the drum opening. Other modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art; therefore, while in accordance with the patent statutes I have described what at present is considered to be thepreferred embodiment of my invention, it is aimed in the appended claims to cover all such equivalent variations that fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

. What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A clothes dryer including:

(a) a container to receive fabrics to be dried, said container being mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis;

(b) means for rotating said container to tumble fabrics therein;

(0) said container defining a generally vertical opening through one wall thereof for loading and unloading fabrics;

(d) and a door for closing said opening during operation of said dryer, said door being rotatably mounted and spaced from said drum to revolve independently of said drum when impinged upon by tumbling fabrics.

2. A clothes dryer including:

(a) an appearance cabinet to enclose the operative elements of said dryer;

(b) a container mounted in said cabinet to receive fabrics to be dried; said container being mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis;

(0) means for rotating said container to tumble fabrics therein;

(d) said cabinet and said container defining aligned generally vertical openings for loading and unloading fabrics;

(e) a mechanism for selectively closing said openings,

said mechanism including an outer member pivotally mounted on said cabinet for movement between opened and closed positions,

(f) said mechanism also including an inner member rotatably mounted on said outer member, said inner member being in alignment with said drum opening and spaced from said drum when said outer member is in its closed position so that said inner member will revolve independently of said drum when impinged upon by turnbling fabrics.

3. A clothes dryer including:

(a) an appearance cabinet to enclose the operative elements of said dryer;

(b) a container mounted in said cabinet to receive fabrics to be dried; said container being mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis;

(c) means for rotating said container to tumble fabrics therein;

((1) said cabinet and said container defining aligned 25 including an outer door pivotally mounted on said cabinet for movement between opened and closed positions for selectively closing the opening in said cabinet and an inner door rotatably mounted on said outer door;

(f) said inner door being spaced slightly from said drum adjacent said drum opening when said outer door is in its closed position so that inner door will effectively close the drum opening and will revolve independently of said drum when impinged upon by tumbling fabrics.

4. A clothes dryer as set forth in claim 3 wherein the axis of rotation of said inner door is substantially in alignment with the aXis of rotation of said drum when said outer door is closed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,074,508 3/1937 Hetzer 34-139.X 2,495,535 1/1950 Morrison 3476 2,546,925 3/1951 Geldhof et al 34139 X 2,809,442 10/1957 Glasby 3482 2,886,901 5/1959 Whyte et al. 34-133 FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

C. R. REMKE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CLOTHES DRYER INCLUDING: (A) A CONTAINER TO RECEIVE FABRICS TO BE DRIED, SAID CONTAINER BEING MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS; (B) MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID CONTAINER TO TUMBLE FABRICS THEREIN; (C) SAID CONTAINER DEFINING A GENERALLY VERTICAL OPENING THROUGH ONE WALL THEREOF FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING FABRICS; (D) AND A DOOR FOR CLOSING SAID OPENING DURING OPERATION OF SAID DRYER, SAID DOOR BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED AND SPACED FROM SAID DRUM TO REVOLVE INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID DRUM WHEN IMPINGED UPON BY TUMBLING FABRICS. 